Self-adjusting wrench



vMarch 15, 1949. F. J CARNELL! 2,464,555

SELF-ADJUSTING WRENCH Filed Sept. 36, 1944' IN V EN TOR. Francis J Car-nelli ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT orncs' 2,464,555 SELF-ADJUSTING WRENCH Francis J. Carnelli, New York,-N. Y. Application September 26, 1944, Serial No. 555,775

My'invention relates to wrenches, particularly to wrenches having a handle with a fixed jaw and a slot near one end and a swinging jaw extending through the slot of, said handle.

In wrenches of the above type it has heretofore been difficult and expensive to form an accurately positioned slot in a handle of substantially integral construction.

My present invention obviates this difiiculty and provides a construction which enables a slotted handle to be easily and accurately constructed of great strength and rigidity and which may be easily assembled.

In my invention a wrench handle is provided near its fixed jaw with a transverse stepped recess to form a connecting shank between the handle and the jaw and of a depth sufficient to receive the extension of the swinging jaw and also a bridge plate which fits the stepped portion of the recess and, with the shank, completes a transverse slot. The bridge plate is preferably mounted at its ends on the faces of the stepped portion of the recess and with its end surfaces abutting the transverse sides of the recess. These abutting faces are at an angle to the line of thrust or reaction of the pivoted swinging jaw on the handle so that the stress of this thrust is borne between these faces. This may be accomplished by suitably positioning these faces, or a part of them, as for example by forming them reversely at an angle to the line of thrust, so that they converge in a wedge-like form toward the front of the handle or in the direction of the thrust or reaction of the swinging jaw.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a side view thereof, shown partly broken away;

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a view, similar to that of Figure 2, showing only the upper portion of the handle member of the device; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the head or upper jaw member of said device.

It will be noted that the drawing illustrates a self-adjusting wrench of the type having a pivoted upper jaw. The broad principles of the invention may be applied, however, to other types of wrenches as well.

Referring now to the drawing, the self-adjusting wrench shown comprises a handle member ID, a head member 20, a pivot 30 anda tension member 40.

The handle I comprises a two piece construction, each member of which may be of drop- 1 Claim. (Cl. 81.-99)

2 The main unit consists of a handle portion ll, an off-center shank portion I2 and a jaw portion l3 which is situated above the shank thus forming a transverse recess which being open may be easily forged and machined if necessary, The secondary unit consists of' a plate I4 which corresponds to the shank in shape and function. Both may be reversely curved to an extended 8 shape. The opposite ends of said plate lie on converging lines, I4 and l that is, on lines which converge in the direction of the back or top of the wrench, and diverge in the direction of the front or bottom thereof. The plate is set into recesses in handle II and jaw l3 which correspond in shape to the end portions of said plate. Screws i5 fix said plate to said handle and jaw portions.

It will be seen in Figure 2 that a slot I 6 is formed between said plate and said shank when the plate is afiixed as aforesaid. It will also be seen that a hole ll in the shank registers with screw-threaded hole 18 in the plate, and that pivot 3!) which is simply an end-threaded screw, is fixed in said hole.

The head member 20 comprises a drop-forged unit which is shaped, roughly, like a question mark. It has a jaw portion 2|, and a shank portion 22 which is adapted to enter slot [6. It has a hole 23 which is adapted to receive pivot 30, thus enabling the head member 20 to pivot on pivot 30 when its shank is dispersed within said slot.

Tension member 40, which comprises a leaf spring affixed to handle portion II by means of screw 4|, engages the head member 20 in such manner as to urge said head member upwardly around the pivot. A small recess 24 in the back of shank '22 receives said leaf spring and holds it in place with respect to said head member irrespective of the position of the latter as it swings around the pivot.

In use a nut, bolthead or pipe is engaged between the fixed jaw l3 and swinging jaw 2| as indicated in broken lines in Fig, 1 and pressure is applied downwardly on the handle H. The reaction of the swinging jaw through the pin 30 on the shank I2 and on the bridge plate I4 is, therefore, upwardly as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. This upward reaction is received and sustained by the inclined surface l4 and M of the recess in which the bridge plate is wedged. The screws l5, or other securing means, thus serve primarily to hold the bridge plate in place when not in use and are not relied upon to take any forged manufacture.

ing from the principles of the substantial part of the stress imposed by the swinging jaw.

The above invention provides a wrench having a handle which may be easily and quickly formed by drop forging or stamping of the parts or by other automatic machine processes and enables the parts to be accurately machined or finished if desired. When assembled and in use the bridge plate locks tightly into position.

Modifications of design and construction may be incorporated into the wrench without departinvention.

I claim:

A wrench of the type described comprising an elongated handle having a fixed jaw at one end and a transverse stepped recess extending between front and rear sides of said handle near said fixed jaw and forming jaw step, handle step and connecting shank portions, said step portions having transverse shoulders at the ends of said recess, said shoulders being reversely inclined to a wedge shape in the transverse direction so as to converge toward the rear side of said handle, a bridge plate mounted on the stepped portions of said recess and having its ends reversely inclined to abut the inclined shoulders of said jaw and handle step portions, said plate and said REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 329,221 Schramm Oct. 27, 1885 397,794 Gates Feb. 12, 1889 1,456,620 Cary May 29, 1923 1,633,455 Murphy June 21, 1927 1,634,908 Lynch et a1 July 5, 1927 1,680,956 Simonsen Aug. 14, 1928 1,735,257 Mead Nov. 12, 1929 1,862,001 Brungardt June 7, 1932 1,877,642 Brady Sept. 13, 1932 

